Eco-Briefs

	VENEZUELA
	Caribbean Brings Garbage to Shores of Tortuga Island

CARACAS, Aug 4 (Tierramérica).- The sea is the vehicle for pollution of the islands of the southern Caribbean, even the nearly uninhabited ones like La Tortuga, located 150 kilometers northeast of the Venezuelan capital.

“Tons of garbage appear on the 100 kilometers of the island’s beaches, from cigarette butts to dresses and shoes, and any kind of container, whether it’s plastic, metal or glass,” Alberto Boscari, president of La Tortuga Foundation, told Tierramérica.

Much of the waste “comes from other countries, carried by the tides, and can be lethal to fauna, like the numerous species of turtles that give the island its name, and which ingest the garbage, causing damage to the digestive tract and drowning them,” said Boscari.

Volunteers from the Foundation clean up the beaches and make an effort to recycle the materials they collect, but their efforts can’t keep up with the garbage.

	CHILE
	Illegal Logging in Native Forest Under Investigation

AYSÉN, Chile, Aug 4 (Tierramérica).- The investigative police in Chile are looking into a report of illegal logging in a native forest for the construction of a road to a dam on the Cuervo River, a project of the Energía Austral company.

Peter Hartmann, regional director of the National Committee for the Defense of Flora and Fauna, filed a complaint with the regional attorney general’s office.

It involves 10 to 20 hectares of native forest, “including the protected cypress of Guaitecas (Pilgerodendron uviferum), which is environmental harm against the heritage of all Chileans. The government must uphold this right and apply the corresponding sanctions,” Hartmann told Tierramérica.

Energía Austral has an agreement with the Ministry of Public Works for the construction of the road, despite the fact that the proposed dam has not yet been approved by the Regional Environmental Commission.

	HONDURAS
	Date Set for Withdrawal of Canadian Mine

TEGUCIGALPA, Aug 4 (Tierramérica).- The Honduran mining development agency announced the withdrawal, in one year, of the Entremares mining company, a subsidiary of Canada’s Glamis Gold, which launched operations in this country in 2000.

Julio Ortiz, director of mining development, told Tierramérica that the measure is in keeping with “special considerations” of the company, acquired in 2006 by Goldcorp, also Canadian, and before the application of an environmental mitigation plan in the central valley of Siria, 120 kilometers from Tegucigalpa, focus of the company’s operations.

The withdrawal of Entremares comes after a heated fight with environmental groups from the Siria area, which accused the company of operating without the environmental requirements stated by law, of deforesting the area, and of contaminating water sources with cyanide and other toxic substances associated with mining.

	BRAZIL
	Recycled Plastic for Solar Water Heaters

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 4 (Tierramérica).- An apparatus made from discarded plastic containers provides hot water, making use of the abundant solar energy of the southern Brazilian state of Paraná.

Constructed with bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and milk containers, the system varies in size, depending on the need, and heats water up to 50 degrees Celsius in the summer and 38 degrees in the winter.

In addition to recycling containers, the project of the state’s Environment Secretariat saves electricity. “The idea is to stimulate the use of solar energy in a country with a lot of sunshine, while lowering the amount of garbage,” José Alano, inventor of the device, told Tierramérica.

Already 6,000 of these “ecological water heaters” have been produced. The largest, made from 1,800 PET bottles and 1,500 containers, was inaugurated in late July in the town of Palmas.

*Source: Inter Press Service.